Ex-inmate Cyntoia Brown-Long argues for redemption in memoir

The story of 31-year-old Cyntoia Brown-Long has mostly been framed by attorneys, filmmakers and celebrities such as Rihanna and Kim Kardashian West.

But Brown-Long, recently released from prison about spending nearly half of her life behind bars, is speaking out in a memoir, “Free Cyntoia: My Search for Redemption in the American Prison System,” which was published Tuesday by Simon and Schuster.

The memoir goes deep into the patterns of sexual abuse, predatory men and a childhood raised in the juvenile justice system that led up to Brown-Long’s life sentence as a teenager.

But Brown-Long said the book shows a more complex picture of her road to redemption and she wants to use her platform to bring attention to juvenile justice reform.